Optimistic Pessimism
by theatrelove123
Summary: Vaughn has been trying to move the stupid horse for hours, but to no avail. Chelsea sees his lack of success as an opportunity to give him a quick, much needed lesson in positive thinking.


**I've been overwhelmed with work these past few weeks, so I've had little time to write anything substantial (although I am still working on things, slowly but surely!) As a tide-over, please enjoy this small Chelsea and Vaughn oneshot that popped into my head this morning :p.**

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><p>Vaughn grunted as he tried to push the lazy horse.<p>

"C'mon, you moronic horse! Just get…into the…barn!" he seethed, each word taking effort. He had been working with the animals all day long, and once he was able to get this one last horse into the barn he was allowed to go home.

But the horse _just wouldn't budge._

"Hey Vaughn, what's up?" A cheerful voice approached. Vaughn rolled his eyes.

"Chelsea…can't ya see that I'm…busy?" he told her as he continued pushing the horse that didn't seem to notice him. The girl's happiness tended to be contagious, and he _really_ wasn't in the mood to be cheered up.

"Oh…" Chelsea said, sounding somewhat dejected. Vaughn stopped pushing for a moment, and sighed. He hadn't meant to hurt her feelings; he just didn't feel like talking.

"Look, it's nothing personal, but if I don't get this damn horse to go into the barn, then I'll never be able to go home. And, seeing how much progress I've made so far, I'm going to be out here all night. So if you'll excuse me—"

"_Vaughn_! Don't think like that!" She interrupted him, sounding slightly angry.

"Think like what? I'm thinking how I think." He explained matter o' factly while adjusting the hat on his head.

"But the way you think is so darn pessimistic!" she shouted at him accusatorily.

"No it's not. I'm not pessimistic." Vaughn told her in his low southern drawl. He checked his watch. 9:15. He didn't have time for this.

"_'If I don't get this damn horse to go into the barn, then I'll never be able to go home._'" She imitated him. "Not pessimistic, huh Vaughn?"

"No, not pessimistic." Vaughn assured her. "It's more like…optimistic pessimism." he decided.

"Optimistic pessimism?" Chelsea asked, tilting her head. "Isn't that an oxymoron?"

"Well, yeah." He conceded. "But what I mean by it is that, even though I don't usually expect things to turn out right (_because it's rare that they do, _he thought to himself), if things _do_ work out and I get to go home, then I'll feel good. So, even if I might be pessimistic in the beginning, I'll be happy if things turn out well, and I might just be more optimistic come next time. See that? Optimistic Pessimism."

Chelsea nodded at him in understanding. "I guess that does _kind of_ make sense." She said. Vaughn sighed, relieved at his success in reasoning with the farm girl.

"But, you know Vaughn, things would probably work out better if you tried optimistic _optimism _instead!"

"_What_?" Vaughn asked, sounding incredulous.

"Optimistic optimism! It's like your whole thing, 'cept without the pessimism." She said, grinning toothily. It annoyed Vaughn, how she was always smiling. But it wasn't really the _act_ of Chelsea smiling that annoyed him, he thought. It was more the smile itself, and the fact that he found it undeniably adorable.

But he would never tell her that. No way. Instead he asked, "But isn't optimism automatically optimistic?"

Chelsea rolled her eyes. "No…your optimism is combined with pessimism, remember? And, therefore, optimism isn't automatically optimistic. _Duh!_"

"Chelsea, I don't know what you're—"

"Shhh! I'll prove to you that optimistic optimism is better than your optimistic pessimism! Now be quiet so I can think." she told him, sounding determined. She scanned the area, looking for a way to prove herself. Suddenly, her blue eyes lit up. "Watch this."

"I really don't have the ti—"

"_Watch_!" she told the cowboy. Realizing that there was nothing that he could do to get out of it, Vaughn complied. He followed her gaze; she was looking intently at the horse he'd been trying to move.

"There's no frickin' way you're gonna move that thing, you know." Vaughn told her. But Chelsea didn't listen.

"I think I can move the horse. I _know_ I can move the horse…" she said as she pushed. Vaughn watched on and chuckled silently to himself. He was much stronger than her; there was no way that she could move the horse if he hadn't been able to.

"See this, Vaughn?" she said, starting to sweat from effort. "This is what I call…optimistic…_optimism_!" Vaughn stared at the sight wide-eyed. On the word 'optimism', the horse turned its head back and acknowledged Chelsea. Then, surely enough, it started moving forward and into the barn.

"No...No way. You got the thing to move!" Vaughn said, although he hated to admit that Chelsea had done it so easily. But, needless to say, he was impressed.

"I did it! I did it!" Chelsea squealed as Vaughn continued looked at her in disbelief. Without thinking, she excitedly ran up to Vaughn and gave him a big hug, once again taking the cowboy by surprise.

"Did you see that? Did you? You may have your optimistic pessimism, Vaughn, but I think that I've just proved that optimistic optimism works better! I'll have you know that—" she stopped, only just noticing that her arms were wrapped around him.

"Um..sorry Vaughn…I guess I got a bit ahead of myself…and…" she mumbled, her cheeks flushing livid pink. She tried to stop hugging him, but found that he was holding onto her tightly by the waist. She squirmed, but his arms stubbornly stayed put.

"Vaughn, you're, um, kind of not letting me go…" she pointed out nervously as he looked at her with intense violet eyes.

"Do you mind if I give your optimistic optimism a try?" he asked, his eyes boring into hers. Wordlessly, she nodded.

"I think I will kiss Chelsea. I _know_ I will kiss Chelsea…" he whispered before pressing his lips to hers.

_Her lips are so soft, _he thought, as she slowly began kissing him back. The feeling that the kiss gave the pair of them was truly amazing, unlike anything either one had felt from a kiss before.

The kiss wasn't long, but it was definitely long enough to leave a lasting impression on both participants. As they pulled away from each other, there was silence.

"Wow…" Vaughn finally said, letting out a low whistle. "I guess you were right. Optimistic optimism _does_ work."

Even though he had finally let go of her waist, Chelsea's mouth refused to form any coherent words. She eventually stuttered a timid goodbye and ran off towards her farm.

Vaughn watched after her longingly. Now that his work was officially done he could go home, but he found that he didn't really want to move from his spot.

He knew that he'd always be an optimistic pessimist at heart. But, for some reason, being around Chelsea seemed to make him more optimistically optimistic.

_And I guess_, Vaughn supposed, _that might not be such a bad thing._


End file.
